Sony Announces Final Linux Kit For PlayStation2

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Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. said it would release “Linux (for PlayStation 2)” Release 1.0 in May of this year, allowing buyers of the game console to run Linux.

Although the kits are being sold to both the development community and end users as well, Sony did not say whether it would be porting any of its applications to its Linux distribution, which is based upon the Linux 2.2.1 kernel. The kit will cost $299.

Sony Linux has been available since the company announced its intention to open the console up to the Linux market in summer of last year. In response to many requests from the Japanese Linux society to enjoy Linux programming on PlayStation 2, the Linux Beta Version Kit was made available to approximately 7,900 enthusiasts in Japan in July 2001, the company said.

In addition, users must also be willing to sacrifice some of the flexibility that the PlayStation2 console allows.

“In addition to the ‘Linux for PlayStation 2’ kit, users must have astandard North American PlayStation 2 (SCPH 30001, SCPH 30001R, SCPH 35001GT), a Memory Card (8M) (for PlayStation 2), and a VESA monitor,” according to a statement released by Sony. “The graphics output requires a high-resolution computer display, with standard output set as XGA (1024 x 768 resolution); home televisions cannot be used as monitors. Computer displays supporting ‘sync on green’ are mandatory.”

The 40-Mbyte hard drive that ships with the kit will apparently be preformatted with the Sony Linux OS, requiring users to swap out hard drives to run standard non-Linux PS2 games.

The software includes Linux Kernel version 2.2.1 (with USB device support, “Linux (for PlayStation 2)” Version 1.0 software distribution on two DVDs, gcc 2.95.2 and glibc 2.2.2 with VU assemblers, and XFree86 3.3.6 with PlayStation 2 GS support. The kit also ships with a 100-Mbit Ethernet adapter, a computer monitor adaptor with audio connectors, and a USB keyboard and mouse.

Customer support and other community-based features will be handledthrough the North American PlayStation 2 Linux website,www.playstation2-linux.com.